Welcome! Sorry you are here, but hope we can all support each other thru this time.

Just had my first treatment. Cried when they started bringing out all the stuff, but overall it went pretty smoothly. I did have a blood pressure drop at the end and got to stay an extra half hour to get more saline! Everyone was great and talked me through every step.

Hi, I have been reading all of the posts since being diagnosed in December. This is my first post. I am so happy to have found this community. I had a lumpectomy 1/14/19 and I am going back 2/4/19 for more surgery to get clearer margins. I will also be getting a port installed and starting chemo 2/7/19. I will be on 4 rounds each of AC & Taxol and then radiation.

Hieveryone, I’ve been reading tons of helpful advice on this website since being diagnosed. My chemo starts tomorrow February 1st (originally planned for last week but delayed due to a liver biopsy which was found to be benign yay!) I am gonng to be doing TCHP for 6 rounds every 3 weeks, then Herceptin and Perjeta for the remainder of a year.

Welcome to our group amf5484. I see you are from New Hampshire so not too far from me! Are you enjoying the horrid up and down weather! I hope today goes well for you and Rozzy.

I am not suffering from anything horrible today. Am doing anti nausea meds as I had a bit of an upset tummy last night. Also got up in night for some antacids. Hydrating drank a measured 84 ounces plus some other drinks! Here’s to minimal SE

I’m starting in just a couple of hours. 12 weeks of Taxol and Herceptin, then Herceptin every three weeks to finish off a year. I’ve bitten the bullet and decided to use the Dignicap. It adds 90 min to the time I have to be at the infusion center. I hope it’s worth it.

Lets do This-- Great name! There is a great topic called Tiffany's Terrific Tips for TC chemo (or something similar) It was a great resource!! Glad you found us, sorry you are here. I am at work right now, but only planning on half day (started chemo yesterday). Don't feel great, but am trying.

Happy Friday everyone. Just got home from my first infusion of TCHP. What a long day. They also used my port for the first time since having it put in which was weird but not as bad as I thought. They did prescribe me lidocaine to put on the port about an hour before going in that way I won’t feel a thing. Figured why not give it a try. Nervous to see what my body has in store for me the next few days. Also I’ve read to stay on top of the anti nausea meds, should I take one before bed even though I feel ok? Thank you!

I felt off so I took one before bed, but I’m also on different chemo, have heard of people doing it both ways. Glad things went well, my port was left accessed (was put in one day before chemo) but don’t have lidocaine for next time, we’ll see how that goes!

Welcom Hazelhappy, sorry you are here but glad you found us. We are on similar regime so it will be interesting going through this together. No BRCA gene for me, but also triple negative. Hope everyone is doing ok

Thank you all for the good wishes. Treatment today went fine. They gave me steroids and Benadryl orally and Pepcid by IV as my pre-meds. They told me the steroid would make me an insomniac the first couple of nights so they prescribed an anti-anxiety medication. I didn't fill it yet though and didn't sleep at all last night. My stomach has been burning all night. My face is hot and red this morning. I'm wondering if I'm having an allergic reaction

Also, the lidocaine cream on the port worked amazingly well. Didn’t feel a thing.

The Dignicap was very painful at first. Something in the meds made me need to pee frequently so they had to disconnect the cap a few times. I hope it didn’t hurt the effectiveness too much.

Hopping in from the August chemo group to tout the benefits of a brief fast or semi-fast alongside chemo to make the SEs a lot less intense. Fasting tells your healthy cells to go quiescent, and save energy, while also stressing your cancer cells and making them vulnerable. Your chemo day is in the middle of the fast. If doing fasting mimicking, you start 2 days before chemo day for 5 days, and if doing a water-only fast you go for 3 days w chemo day in the middle.

As the fast ends, and your appetite returns, you rebuild by eating nutrient dense foods. During the worst of your digestive system shutting down you basically have very little food in there so it is not uncomfortable.

This fasting plan was developed by a doctor -- Valter Longo at USC. You can look up info on google and youtube. Basically the fasting mimicking is 1,100 cals on day one, and 800 cals per day thereafter. You can eat about 100 cals of protein per day (egg, nuts, meat, etc) and the rest of the calories 50/50, above ground veggies and healthy fats (avocado, cocoanut oil, etc). Unlimited water, tea, bone broth.

There are other posts on this site about it. For me, it was the single biggest help to chemo side effects. My chemos actually got easier not harder as I got better at timing my fast. And I had a superb response to chemo. I think the cancer-killing assist of the fasting might have been important to me as I had a bad cancer (TNBC). But also the protection to healthy cells seems to have worked. I had no fingernail, skin, or mouth issues. Just fatigue.

I also applied heat to my palpable tumor and lymph node - several times per week, an hour+ each time, with a very hot hot water bottle - as heat also stresses/kills cancer cells and spares healthy cells. My boob is still pinkish from the mild burns I got applying all that heat. But I talked to a hyperthermia specialist who said that I surely did myself good by doing this. Again my tumor was easy to feel and near the surface where the heat could penetrate.

Last, exercise. It's counter intuitive but taking a walk when you feel like crap will make you feel a lot less crappy, faster. The integrative MD I consulted with emphasized how important it is for your lean muscle tissue and your heart to be in "building" mode not giving up mode. Your body should think you are in training. He proposed interval training which only takes 18 mins: 3 mins of 30 second intervals, alternating high intensity and moderate intensity (can be jog, bike, elliptical, etc), then a 3 minute rest. Do this three times total.

Hello everyone! There is so much information on this site. A great resource. My first treatment will be Thursday, the 7th. Hoping the side effects won't be so terrible. I'm scheduled for 4 months of chemo every 2 weeks. The first half AC and then Taxol for the second half. After that will be surgery and then radiation. Good luck to all on this journey.

Hello new friends, thank you for offering up such helpful experiences. It is comforting knowing I am not alone in this journey! I am starting chemo tomorrow, Feb 6th. I am on the quad cocktail of TCHP and excited to get started so I can get finished! I found my tumor myself, have not reached the baseline MMG screening mark of my life yet. I'm ER/PR- and HER2+. I'm doing neoadjuvent treatment before surgery. I'm a medical provider myself, but boy am I a novice in the field of Oncology. I welcome and enjoy hearing about others experiences and any tips and tricks your can share. I will do the same to others.

Hi all! I started TCHP on 2/5/19 with 10mg dex, 60mg benedryl and zofran I.V. as pre meds.

Last night I felt like I was on the front end of an epic hang over. You know, the “oooof mistakes were made why did I do that last shot” feeling? Yeah, that. I was dizzy and nauseous and then fell asleep.

Today, February 6, I’m exhausted. I’ve been off my RA meds so maybe that’s why the fatigue is so bad but I took a 5 hour nap and I’m still just....ugh.

I keep reading that side effects with this regimen can be staggered so I’m curious about what to expect

Starting chemo Feb 28, for recurrence of lobular cancer in one lymph node in my axilla. Cyclophosphamide and Taxotere. Not looking forward to it but trying to focus on getting through it and getting treatment behind me. I'm hoping the side effects will not be too severe and am encouraged by a friend who has just been through it and was actually able to continue working throughout most of her chemo treatments. Curious if others are also getting Neulasta and whether they are tolerating it well, without the bone pain that is common.

Good to have a place to come for support and information, I thank all of the ladies here in advance for helping me through this!

I'm in the same boat. I started THCP Weds Feb 6th. I have been feeling great 24 hours post, but still have the pre-meds and taking oral Dexamethasone for another day. I suspect this is keeping my side effects supressed. Treadmill fast walk for an hour today :)

I’m also facing recurrent breast cancer. I was 11.5 years out when my mammogram showed a local recurrence in November. My mastectomy was 3.5 weeks ago and chemo starts for me on 2/22. I, too, hope that I will be able to work during my upcoming treatment. I did do neulasta back in 2007 and the bone pain was tough, but if I recall, it didn't last too long...aybe a day(?)